Motor guide



March 13, 1951 HARRls 2,545,086

MOTOR GUIDE Filed April 11, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.2.

Garrett H. Harris @Mm WWW 13m G. H. HARRIS March 13, 1951 MOTOR GUIDE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 11, 1947 Inventor Garrett H. Harris G. H. HARRIS March 13, 1951 MOTOR GUIDE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Inreutor Garreff H. Harris G- H. HARRIS MOTOR GUIDE KT w mw m March 13, 1951 File d April 11, 1947 'Inn/L' Attorneys Patented Mar. 13, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MOTOR GUIDE Garrett Harris, Jackson, Miss. Application April 11, 1941, Serial No. 140,849 8 Claims. (014115-18) This invention relates to novel and useful improvements in combined power and control means for use in boats and the like.

An object of this invention is to provide improved means for directing and propelling a boat.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel foot control means for steering and regulating the speed of a conventional power means. 1

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved adjusting means, engageable preferably with the bottom portion of a boat, for mounting said foot actuated means.

A further object of this invention is to provide means for locking said power means in a selected predetermined position.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved means for clamping the power means to a boat element.

Ancillary objects and features of novelty shall become apparent to those skilled in the art, in following the description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is an elevational side view of the preferred form of the present invention, showing the same attached to a boat element;

7 Figure 2 is an elevational view of the invention disclosed in Figure 1, revolved substantially 90 about the longitudinal axis thereof;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional View of the invention disclosed in Figure 1 and taken substantially on the line 3'-3 thereof and in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of a detail of construction showing the sleeve and power mechanism forming part of the present invention, parts being shown in section for clarity;

Figure 5 is an elevational plan view of .a portion of the invention showing particularly the directional control means and speed control means forming part of the present invention;

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional detail of construction showing one lof the switches used in conjunction with the speed control means;

Figure 7 is a transverse sectional view of the control means disclosed in Figure and taken substantially on the line '|-'l thereof and in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 8 is a transverse sectional view of another portion of the control means disclosed in Figure 5 and taken substantially on the line -8-8 thereof and in the direction of the arrows;

Figure .9 is an elevational View of the said control means, the view being taken substantially on the line 9-9 of Figure 10 and in the direction of the arrows:

2 Figure 10 is primarily an elevational view of the entire assembled invention, with parts shown in elevation for descriptive purposes;

Figure 11 is a wiring diagram of the motor and control means therefor; and

V Figure 12 is a fragmentary elevational view of the clamp means, secured to the motor support means, for securing the same to a portion of a .boat.

Among the ancillary purposes of this invention is the provision of a device for regulating and guiding the speed of and a boat, commonly used for pleasure, sports and the like. Often, a fisherman desires to have both hands free during fishing operations and yet retain complete control of his boat. Utility of this invention permits this.

Power means and resilient return mechanism Referring to Figures 1 to 3 inclusive, there is disclosed a tube 10 having a reduced shank i2 rigidly secured thereto as by welding or the like. A hollow shaft l4 extends through said tube and sleeve, terminating at a motor housing 16. This motor housing contains a motor 11. The said housing [6 is preferably streamlined and has directional :fins I8 rigidly secured thereto. A weed guard 2-0 may be supplied around the propeller means 22 for the usual purpose of preventing undesirable material from tangling in the said propeller.

A sleeve 24 is slidabl received on the said reduced shank i2 and is fixedly secured thereto by some suitable, selectively operable means. This selectively operable means consists of a first collar 26 rigidly secured to the sleeve 25 and an aperture 28 through said first collar. The aperture 28 is internally threaded and a suitable conventional thumb screw 30 extends therethrough. It will seen from an inspection of Figure 3 that the aperture 28 extends also through the sleeve 24 thereby permitting the thumb screw engagement with the reduced shank 12.. The opposite end of the sleeve 24 is externally threaded at 32 to receive an internally threaded drum 34 thereon. A bearing 36 is provided at the upper portion of said drum 34, engaging the reduced shank 12. The upper portion of the hollow shaft Hi terminates in a threaded projection '38 and a suitable nut '46 is received thereon. Manual control means is interposed between the nut 40 and the upper portion of the said reduced shank !2, being rigidly held therebetween by tightening the said nut 2111. The said manual control means comprises an arm '42 received between said reduced shank i2 and nut on one end thereof and having a suitable handle 44 rotatably journaled at the other end thereof.

A thrust bearing 45 is threadingly received on boat, if the invention is applied thereto.

the said sleeve 24 adjacent and abutting the drum 94. A receptor 48 is provided adjacent the said thrust bearing 48 and antifriction bearings 59, preferably of the ball type, are provided. between said receptor and thrust bearing. A duplicate construction is provided adjacent the first collar 26, the only difierentiating feature being that the thrust bearing is slidably received on the tube or sleeve 24 instead of being threadingly received thereon.

A collar 52 is provided on depending shoulders of the said receptor 48 and consequently encircles the reduced shank I2 and sleeve 24. Resilient biasing means is provided or interposed between the said collar 52 and sleeve 24. The preferred form of resilient biasing means is the coil spring 54, disclosed in Figure 3, secured to the lower receptor 48. It is here noted that the said lower receptor 48 may be a pressed fit in the collar 52 or if so desired, may be otherwise conventionally secured thereto. An aperture 56 is provided in said receptor for the purpose of receiving a free end of the said spring 54. The other end of the said spring is received in one of a plurality of apertures 58 in the said sleeve 24.

The operation of this portion of the invention is deemed quite apparent from the foregoing. Assuming that the collar 52 is held relatively stationary, the motor housing I6 may be turned by rotating the drum 34 which is secured to the sleeve 24. The sleeve 24 and the collar 52 are resiliently connected (relative to rotational movement) by means of the above described spring 54. By this construction, the reduced shank, through the medium of securing means 28 and 39, may be rotated clockwise or counter-clockwise against the action of spring 54. It is noted at this point that the sleeve 24 is axially adjustable relative to the reduced shank I2 by means of the securing means 28, 30 described hereinabove. The manual actuating means 42, 44 may be utilized in over riding the turn producing or torque transmitting drum 34 if so desired. Further, the handle means 42, 44 may be so adjusted to indicate the direction of travel of the Inspection of Figure 2 discloses the directional fins I8 and handle 42 as co-planar. This is all that is necessary in order to provide a dependable and effective direction indicator.

It is often desirable to set the motor means in a certain prescribed path and lock the same. For this purpose, an aperture 60 is provided through the collar 52 and a thumb screw 38 is passed therethrough. It is obvious from an inspection of Figure 4 that the said thumb screw 30' engages the sleeve 24 thereby holding the same in fixed relation relative to the collar 52.

Swivel means for securing motor means to a boat A lug 62 is secured to the said collar 52 and an aperture 84 is provided substantially centrally thereof. A bearing block 66 having an aperture centrally thereof is swivelly secured to the said lug 62. The swivel means is preferably a single bolt 68 extending through the said apertures. Correlating Figures 4 and 12 it is seen that the lug 62 is rotatably mounted on the bearing block 66. A pair of C-clamps "I0 are spaced by a sleeve covered bolt 72. A stub shaft 14 extends through said C-clamps and also through the said bearing block 66. Viewing Figure 12 it is seen that the lug 62 and consequently the collar 52 is rotatably mounted about the stub shaft 14 as an axis. A

conventional wing-nut I6 is provided at one terminal portion of the said bolt 14 for the obvious purpose of locking the collar 52 in a selected position. The usual screws I6 are provided in the usual brackets 78 of the said C-clamps 70. It is obvious that these C-clamps may be used to secure the invention to any selected element 88 of a conventional boat. Turning to Figure 10, it is seen that the motor means may be pivoted about the stub shaft I4 then turned about the pivot 68 in order to remove the motor means from the fluid medium such as a lake, river, bay or the like. This feature forms an important part of the present invention since a very simple and easy means of removing the motor means from the water is provided. Further, the motor means may be adjustably fixed relative to the side of a boat by manipulation of the wing nut 76 after the motor has been placed in the desired location.

Foot control and regulating means Referring primarily to Figures 5 and 10, there is disclosed an important feature of the present invention. A base plate 82 of any suitable configuration has a conduit 84 rigidly secured thereto. This conduit extends transversely of the base plate 82 and is held fixedly thereto by conventional pipe clamps 86. An end threaded shaft 88 is rotatably received through the conduit 84 with conventional T-fittings 98 fixed at the terminal portions thereof. Leg members 92 are adjustably received in the said T-fittings 98 and suitable base members 94 are provided at the terminal portions of said leg members. Apertures may be provided in said stands or base members 94 for the purpose of securing the base plate 82 in a selected desired position. However, these last mentioned apertures are purely optional, being within the perview of this invention to provide auxiliary means for holding the base plate 82 fixed by other means to be described hereafter.

A spring 96 is received on the end threaded shaft 88, one end of said spring engaging the base plate 82 and the other end of said spring engaging a selected T-fitting. This spring normally biases the base plate 82 in a predetermined direction relative to the legs 92.

A rod 98 telescopingly adjustable in a sleeve I is used in conjunction with the above described foot control means. A G-clamp, generally indicated at I82 is pivoted to one end of the said rod 98 and is adapted to engage the seat of a boat or some other conventional handy element. Any suitable conventional pivot means may be provided in securing the C-clamps I82 to the rod 98. The preferable securing means is, however, a usual nut and bolt construction generally indicated at I04. This nut and bolt construction may also receive a ground wire to be described hereinafter. A universal joint connection I96 is provided at the free end of the said sleeve I00 in joining the same to a selected extension I08 of one of the leg assembly means. A thumb screw III] may be utilized in fixedly securing the sleeve I09 and rod 98 in the desired adjusted position.

A liner II 2 is pivoted to the face of the base plate 82. The preferable pivot means are shown at H4 and consist of a pair of longitudinally aligned screws having washers H6 interposed between the liner H2 and base plate 82. Obviously, this construction permits of pivotal movement about the longitudinal axis of the liner I I2. An arm IIB extending normal to the said base plate 82 is provided with incurved flanges I23. These flanges or rails receive an extension or secondary plate I22 thereunder. A slot I24 is received in the said secondary plate I22 and friction securing means extends therethrough and through the normally extending arm H8. The preferred form of friction securing means is a simple wing nut and screw construction indicated at I24. The terminal portion of the said secondary plate I22 is folded over upon itself and receives an electrical conductor I26 therethrough. Here, another frictional securing means or assembly I25 is supplied.

It may be seen from an inspection of Figure that the said conductor I is secured to the base plate 82 through the medium of the adjustable arm linkage and also to the grooved drum 34. The preferable means for securing the conductor to the grooved drum may be seen in Figure 3. Obviously, any suitable means might be employed in lieu of the pair of screws I28 straddling the said conductor I26. A resiliently biased clip I33 is employed to hold the said conductor I26 to the base plate 82. From the construction described hereinabove, it may be readily appreciated that the motor means described hereinabove may be rotated about its stands longitudinal axis by manipulation of the foot rest means, previously described. Upon actuation of the base plate 82 against the action of the spring 95, the electrical conductor I26 is urged selectively away from and around the drum 34, winding or unwinding the same therearound.

The preferential choice of power means resides in a two speed electrical motor arrangement. Accordingly (see Fig. 6), a pair of conventional type switches I32 are suitably secured to the base plate 32. These switches are actuated by the pivotal movement of the base plate covering means H2. The conductor I26 mentioned hereinabove is provided with a pair of wires I34 and I33 extending therethrough. One of the said wires is electrically connected to a first switch and the other of said wires is electrically connected to the second switch and both wires are joined as at I3'l. These wires I34 and I36 respectively, extend through the conductor I 26, forming the same, and extend through the nut 4!], then through the hollow shaft I4 and finally the corn ductor I3? is secured to an appropriate terminal of the motor means IT. The conductor I4! extends to a suitable source of current, preferably a storage battery, and to the second terminal of the switches I32, there being a conventional rheostat I3I between the switches I32 and the battery, and one switch I32 having a resistor I connected in series therewith to provide for motor speed selection. The ground wire [43 extends to the bracket 86 in order to assist in completing the circuit. A further ground is employed by utilizing the ground wire I42 which is secured to the motor and the pivot means I04, mentioned hereinabove. It is noted that wires I43 and MI are housed to form conductor I38.

The leg means 22 may be selectively adjusted to suit the contour of the particular boat on which the control means are employed. Obviously, different boats are provided with different angularity of slope in the hulls and it is desirable to have the cover means I I2 along with the heel rest means, I44, integral therewith, in a horiZon tal plane. This is desirable for the comfort of the employer of the invention.

'6 Having'thus described this invention, what is claimed as novel and improved is as follows:

1. Means for directing and propelling a boat comprising a shaft, power means secured to said shaft, a sleeve on said shaft, a collar around said sleeve, means between said collar and said sleeve for resiliently and rotationally biasingsaid sleeve relative to said collar, releasable means for locking said sleeve to said collar, a drum removably secured to said sleeve having an electrical conductor attached thereto which connects with said power means, bi-planar pivotal means for securing said sleeve to a boat, and adjustable pedal and switch means having said conductor attached thereto for controlling said power means and for rotating said drum.

2. The invention recited in claim 1, said last mentioned means including a base, adjustable boat contacting legs secured to said base, a rod adapted to be secured to a boat seat, a universal connection between said rod and said base, selectively operable switches mounted on said base, means for adjustably securing said conductor to said base, said conductor being electrically connected to said switches, and means carried by said base for actuating said switches.

3. The invention recited in claim 2, said sleeve and collar locking means comprising a thumb screw extending through said collar and engaging said sleeve.

4. Means for directing and propelling a boat comprising a shaft, a motor fixed to said shaft, a sleeve disposed around said shaft and a collar disposed on said sleeve, a spring reacting on said collar and said sleeve constantly biasing said sleeve rotatively with respect to said collar, releasable means for locking said collar to said sleeve, a drum secured to said sleeve, a conductor for said motor wound around said drum, and a pivotally mounted pedal having said conductor attached thereto for unwinding said conductor from said drum whereby said spring will rewind said conductor on said drum.

5. Means for directing and propelling a boat comprising a shaft, a motor fixed to said shaft, a sleeve disposed around said shaft and a collar disposed on said sleeve, a spring reacting on said collar and said sleeve constantly biasing said sleeve rotatively with respect to said collar, releasable means for locking said collar to said sleeve, a drum secured to said sleeve, a conductor for said motor wound around said drum, a pivotally mounted pedal having said conductor at tached thereto for unwinding said conductor from said drum whereby said spring will rewind said conductor on said drum, switches electrically connected with said conductor, and actuated by said pedal, an electrical circuit including said switches, motor and conductor, and wires extend ing from said switches to said motor to control the operation of said motor.

6. In an apparatus for propelling and directing a boat, a motor, a shaft for supporting said motor fixed to said motor, a sleeve disposed on said shaft, means releasably locking said sleeve and shaft together, a collar disposed around said sleeve and means releasably locking said collar to said sleeve, said sleeve having a plurality of apertures, a spring anchored at one end in one of said apertures and secured to said collar at the other end, said spring constantly biasing said sleeve rotatively, the improvement which comprises: a pedal, means pivotally mounting said pedal, a conductor for energizing said motor, slack take-up means mounted on said pedal and having said conductor attached thereto, and a drum secured to said sleeve having said conductor wound therearound,

7. In an apparatus for propelling and directing a boat, a motor, a shaft for supporting said motor fixed to said motor, a, sleeve disposed on said shaft, means releasably locking said sleeve and shaft together, a collar disposed around said sleeve and means releasably locking said collar to said sleeve, said sleeve having a plurality of apertures, a spring anchored at one end in one of said apertures and secured to said collar at the other end, said spring constantly biasing said sleeve rotatively, the improvement which comprises: a pedal, means pivotally mounting said pedal, a conductor for energizing said motor, slack take-up means mounted on said pedal and having said conductor attached thereto, a drum secured to said sleeve having said conductor wound therearound, a spring reacting on said pedal to urge said pedal in one direction, and said pedal and said conductor tensioning both of said springs when the pedal is pivoted in the other direction.

8 8. The combination of claim 6 and said slack take-up means including a pair of extensibly connected plates one of which is fixed to said pedal, and a clamp fixed to the other of said plates supporting said conductor.

GARRETT H. HARRIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 231,017 Davis Aug. 10, 1880 650,558 Hatch May 29, 1900 1,091,645 Fisher Mar. 31, 1914 1,461,380 Cole July 10, 1923 1,553,649 Tracy Sept. 15, 1925 1,661,369 Irgens Mar. 6, 1928 1,764,388 Buchet June 17, 1930 1,826,507 Crosby Oct. 6, 1931 2,309,159 Binger Jan. 26, 1943 

